This was an interesting premise but sadly just wasn't for me - I wasn't engaged with any of the characters and I found it hard to believe what happened.

I really loved the description and premise of this book, however I really struggled to get in to this story.
The characters weren't appealing or likeable to me, which I have to say made it rather difficult to feel any kind of connection to them or their situations.
The book itself is well written with a lot of detail throughout, however this simply wasn't for me.

I loved The Perfect Life. I found it an easy read but it kept me hooked from the first page until the last. It had lots of twists and turns that I was not expecting and overall it was a really enjoyable read that I would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for my copy.

This book seemed very promising initially. Who hasn’t dreamed of winning the lottery and never having to worry about all the haters and other fake people in your life. But I should have known it was an overpromise when the cover and the title seemed to be overhyping it. It took forever to get into this book and I felt like I forced myself to keep reading. I didn’t like any of the characters that much to the point where I didn’t care what happened. Obviously I wouldn’t want the boys to die but aside from that the characters didn’t have many great qualities.

However it was a nice distraction and for the most part enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy for an honest review.

I loved the premise for this book - winning the lottery and how that may change your life for good or bad. I had a hard time finding a character I liked. It didn't take a lot of thought to read this book and was a fast read. I don't know - after I read it it just kind of disappeared from my mind so nothing outstanding about it.

I like Heather and her family, I like the plot, but I couldn't feel the thriller part. It was more of drama, suspense, not thriller. Heather just win a lot of money, and they decide to help everyone close. And then, her son is abducted, he is found, and that's all, everyone is happy. No action, nothing.
Thank you Netgalley for this book.

What would happen if a normal, rational woman won the lottery, and didn't want the fame and fancy bags that people normally lose their winnings on?

What if all she wanted was to relax with her kids and family, and not have to worry about the monthly budget? Sure, they'd do something for family, and something nice for really close friends, but that list has a cut off point.

What if someone didn't want her to be that happy? Thought the token they were given wasn't enough, that they should have had more? What happens when they act?

Trying to relax and escape with a few friends, they take the summer to soak in their winnings, and be away from the publicity. But they couldn't leave all their problems behind.

Sometimes, nothing is ever enough. And pushed to the breaking point, you eventually snap.

I’m sure this is a great novel, but it just didn’t grab my attention. I’m sure others will love it. Couldn’t get into many chapters

This book is centered around Heather, who randomly buys a lottery ticket and ends up winning a lot of money. From then on she whines about winning it and is nothing but anxious about everything that has to do with it.

I wasn't gripped by this book at all like I had hoped. Heather's just not a likeable character and nothing seemed to happen for me until the 65% mark, and even then I still struggled. It's whodunit atmosphere and cast of (other) characters made it 2.5 stars. I'm in the minority, but I just didn't get in to this one at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this one!

Heather has the perfect life, perfect family, perfect home and money! We're talking lotto winnings money. It's all she has dreamed of, especially after the horrors she faced in her youth, until the jealousy and envy come to her front door. Kidnapping her youngest son, her perfect life has just came crashing at her feet. The twists and turns had me wanting to read as quickly as possible!

The title of the book says “The Perfect Life a totally compelling psychological thriller with an electrifying finish” but it was so not true. I was unfortunately disappointed in the book. The story starts good with lots of potential.

Heather has won the lottery...a considerable amount. Her family and her family's life has changed. As soon as she has won the money she starts getting threats. She know has to figure out who is doing this. Can she trust the people around her? The author does convey the anxiety that Natalie feels but there is not enough thrills twists and turns. The story had potential but in my opinion fell flat.
I just reviewed THE PERFECT LIFE a totally compelling psychological thriller with an electrifying finish by Susanna Beard. #THEPERFECTLIFETHRILLER Thank you #NetGalley for providing me a free ARC for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Perfect Life by Susanna Beard. It was a good mystery that kept me enthralled to the end. I enjoyed the twist in the end for who committed the crime. The character's are all likable. The story of how someone would feel after winning the lottery is believable and how the family reacts to what they are going to do with their new found winnings and situations kept the story intriguing. The story has a good flow to it but I was slightly lost with the before chapters and who they were about. But that was needed for the ending. I took a bit of a dislike to Natalie but as the story went on I liked her again as she was very expectant of what she thought she should be gifted from Heather from her lottery win.

Heather and her husband just won the lottery and it's a lot of money. They sneak away for a summer break and invite their closest friends and family. Heather and her husband make provisions for their friends but is it enough? When her son is kidnapped, she starts to suspect everyone. But who would do it and why?

Heather doesn't usually buy lottery tickets but the guy in front of her does so why not live a little and buy one. Then Heather waits until her husband James comes home to make sure she has won. They are now multi millionaires, Now Heather worries about every thing!
It was good but there were a few characters I wanted more background. It certainly made you think how you would handle that problem.

This book was a bit of a slow burn, more like a poolside read than a thrilling mystery. It centers on Heather, who is happily married with 2 teenage boys when she makes a snap decision to buy a lottery ticket and wins 29M pounds. She has never cared about money and finds this more stressful than exciting. She and her family plan on spending the summer in Spain with their families and a couple of close friends to allow the dust to settle as well as determine what they are going to do with the money. While the synopsis makes the story look like it's all about Heather and her best friend Natalie, Natalie was only one of many tertiary characters in the book.

The first part of the book felt slow, where the reader learns more about Heather and about all the different players in the book. There is some jealousy and envy, as well as little personality nits between Heather and the other characters. There are also a couple of threatening messages, but this fees like a very small part of the storyline over the first half of the book. I got a little tired of Heather complaining about the money all the time.

The pace picks up in the last half of the book, where Heather and her family are in a race against the clock to save themselves from a situation that appears to be fallout from word having got out about the money. I was suspicious of a lot of the characters during this part of the book, and it kept me guessing. When all was revealed, I had guessed one part of the mystery but the other was somewhat of a surprise. The ending tied up the loose ends nicely.

All in all, I thought this was a decent read but didn't really keep me on the edge of my seat. I did like the way the author tied it all together at the end, and gave us just enough characterization of the many characters to make us suspicious, and make it all make sense in the long run. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Life by Susanna Beard is packed full of drama and excitement.

Heather Jessop is happily married to James, and they have two sons, Ben and Harry. She also has a beautiful house in Shepherd's Bush, West London and she’s just won £29 million on the lottery! When Heather receives a text invitation to dinner at the home of Victoria and Andrew who live in Hammersmith she is suspicious as she barely knows the couple. Anonymous texts follow which become increasingly unpleasant and although James thinks that Heather's reactions are OTT, the Jessops decide to temporarily escape to Spain.

In The Perfect Life, the author has drawn some strong characters and envy and jealousy are prominent topics throughout this compelling story. Told from Heather's perspective, interspersed with chapters from her best friend Natalie and the viewpoint of another person, the story was engaging and Susanna Beard's narrative was vivid and realistic.

This very appealing, thought-provoking story was chockablock with drama, and I was kept guessing as to the outcome. I'm so pleased I chose to read The Perfect Life. Highly recommended.😊

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Joffe Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I could not get into this book at all. I could not drum up any interest in the characters of their storyline book fell eat all around. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving this book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Heather has lucked out. She has a beautiful house, a happy marriage to James Jessop, with two sons, Ben and Harry — and she’s just won the lottery. £29 million!
The loyal best friends m
Natalie has never quite kept up, but she’s finally in a relationship with a new boyfriend, Nick. She’s been best friends with Heather since they were bullied at school. But will her friend’s new fortune change their relationship?
A dream come true turns into a paranoid nightmare
The Jessops comfortable life dissolves into chaos. Heather starts getting anonymous, hateful messages on her phone. She begs Natalie to escape with her to Spain, along with a few other close friends. But away from the limelight in London, things go from bad to worse. Then the worst happens and Heather realises she can’t trust anyone. Not even her best friend.
Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for giving me an advanced copy.

Heather has lucked out. She has a beautiful house, a happy marriage to James Jessop, with two sons, Ben and Harry — and she’s just won the lottery. £29 million!
Natalie has never quite kept up, but she’s finally in a relationship with a new boyfriend, Nick. She’s been best friends with Heather since they were bullied at school. But will her friend’s new fortune change their relationship?

The characters are well thought of, especially the man character. The twists and turns were exciting for the most part. The ending was pretty good also.
This did start a little slow for me in the beginning. But started to pick up around 65%
Overall a enjoyable book.

THE PERFECT LIFE
by: Susanna Bird

The cover says “a totally compelling psychological thriller with an electrifying finish” which I thought was quite misleading. I thought the story slow and I was extremely unimpressed. The plot twist was predictable; I was not surprised in the least. I desperately wanted to DNF this book, however I stuck it out and finished because I was really hoping for that “electrifying finish” that was promised, but it just never came. The climax, plot twist, and resolution were summed up rather quickly to which I sat the frustrated and thought to myself, “I read this entire book for THIS?”
All the characters were flat. The main character, Heather, whined about absolutely everything. She won 29 million pounds and every single chapter is her complaining, whining and crying. Now I know money doesn’t solve everything, but you’d think she would be a little happy that came into money. It was stated that Heather did actually develop by the last paragraph (overcoming her eating disorder), but there was no visible growth for the reader to see. How disappointing.
As for the other characters, wow what terrible people. My goodness they were so rude and entitled. Again, not one showed any growth.

1.5 star, there were some pleasant descriptions that made me feel like I was on vacation.

Trigger warnings: eating disorder, anxiety, abuse, abduction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for this ARC in return for an honest review.